Compensator for submarines



Feb. 12 1924. 1,483,696

.1. E. SWENDEMAN COMPENSATOR FOR SUBMARINES Filed June a. 1920 I s Sheets-Sheet 1 5 3 s g u k Josepfil zswcndemz Feb 12, 1924. v 1,483,696

J. E. SWENDEMAN COMPENSATOR FOR SUBIIARINES Filed June 5-, 1920 3 Sheets-Shoot 3 Q MMH Inieniqv:

Patented Feb. 12, 1924.

um'ran STATES 1,483,696 PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH E. SWENDEMAN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

COMPENSATOR non sUBMaarnEs.

Application filed .Tune 3, 1920. Serial No. 386,273.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. SWENDE- MAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in Compensators for Submarines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

This invention relates to submarines, and aims to provide means automatically to compensate for the consumption of fuel by the admission of water. in corresponding amounts, and further to enable the ratio between the fuel supplied to the engine and the water taken into the hull to be predetermined in accordance with the specific gravities of the oil and sea-water.

The invention will be best understood by reference to the following description, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings of one specific embodiment thereof, while its scope will be more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic or conventionalized central, longitudinal section of a submarine having a compensating system exemplifying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the pumping apparatus;

ig. 3 is a sectional view 'on line 33 of Fig. 2; f

Fig. 4 is'an end elevation of the pumpingapparatus viewed from the side opposite to that shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a central, vertical sectional view of the auxiliary fuel tank and the float-controlled switch, which controls the operation of the pump driving motor;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale of the switch, showing the same in its 01f position;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 6, showing the switch in its on position; and

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of the electrical connections.

Referring to the drawings, and to the embodiment-of my invention which I haveselected for exemplification, I have shown a submarine having a hull 10, which may be of any usual or suitable construction, having a power plant 11, which may be the one used to propel thesubmarine, and which is usually in theoform of a fuel-burning engine of the Diesel type, although submarines are sometimes provided with steam power plants having oil-burningvboilers. My invention, however, is not limited to the use of a fuelburning power plant of any particular type.

In the present example, fuel oil is fed to the engine by gravity from an auxiliary fuel tank 12 having an inlet pipe 13 and an outlet pipe 1 1-, the latter leading to the engine. The auxiliary tank receives its supply of fuel oil from one or more, herein a plurality of main fuel tanks 15, from each of which a branch pipe 16 leads in an upward direction to a main pipe 17 delivering the oil to the inlet pipe 13 of the auxiliary tank 12. Each of the branch pipes 16 may be controlled by a usual valve 18, conventionally represented in Fig. 1, the purpose of these valves being to close off each main tank as soon as the supply of oil therein is exhausted.

As the fuel is consumed, naturally the boat would be lightened, were it not for the provision of means for admitting water into the hull in quantities proportioned to the loss of weight due to the consumption of the fuel. It is, therefore, common to supp-1y sea-water to the bottom of a given main tank in proportion to the oil taken therefrom'to supply the engine, and there is usually employed for this purpose a sea-water inlet pipe 19 communicating with a main pipe 20 having a plurality of branches 21, each discharging into one of the main fuel tanks at a point adjacent the bottom of the latter, such branch being controlled by a usual valve 22,- conventionally represented in Fig. 1.

Heretofore, the substitution of water for fuel has been accomplished by manually operable means, and it has been necessary to keep close watch; otherwise, in case it became necessary to submerge'quickly, it was found impossible to do so,-until a suflicient .amount of sea-water had been admitted to oflset the loss of weight due to the consumption of fuel. This compensation, however, is rendered possible by the automatic compensating system which will now be described.

The compensating system herein exemplified comprises suitable water and oil pumps, herein provided with cylinders 23 and 24 having pistons and 26, respectively, work ing therein. In the present example, single acting pumps are employed, and they are provided with passages 27 and 28, respectively, communicating with the main seawater and oil pipes 20 and 17, respectively. The water pump is herein provided with. suitable check valves 29 and 30, and the oil pump with check valves 31 and 32 of any usual or desired construction, so arranged that the upward or suction stroke of each pump causes the inlet check valve 29 or 31, as the case may be, to open and the outlet check valve or 32 to close, thus allowing the charge of liquid to bedrawn into the pump. When the down stroke of the piston occurs the inlet check valve closes and the outlet check valve opens, thus causing a discharge of the liquid to the main tank or tanks by way of the main and branch pipes. Check valves are so well known to those skilled in the art that it has been deemed unnecesary 'to show or describe them in iii detail. v

In the present instance, the pistons 25 and 26 are driven by connecting rods 33 and 34:, respectively, connected to cranks 35 and 36, which are driven by common driving means, whereby each piston always receives an impulse corresponding to that of the other; Preferably, suitable provision is made to vary the output of one pump with respect to that of the other, in order that adjustment may be made for variations in the relative specific gravities of sea-water and fuel oil. One convenient way of accomplishing this is by providing the cranks 35-and 36 with radially adjustable cranks 37 and 38 mounted in slots 39 and 40 provided in the cranks 35 and-36, respectively. lhe crank pins may be conveniently adjusted by suitable adjusting screws 41 and 42, having screw-threaded engagement with the respective crank pins.

It has been stated that the cranks are driven by common means, whereby each pump receives the same number of impulses :s the other within a given time. To this end, the cranks 35 and 36 are herein appropriately secured to shafts 4:3 and 44, to which are also secured bevel gears 45 and =16, driven by bevel pinions 47, the latter being secured to and driven by a shaft 48 of a suitable motor 4L9, herein an electric motor. lVhen, therefore, current is supplied to the motor, the two pumps are driven at equal speeds, so that the output of one always has a predetermined relation to the output of the other.

To facilitate the operation of ascertaining the specific gra-vities of the sea-water and the fuel oil, I have herein provided the pipes 19 and 13 with suitable three-way valves 50 and 51 (see Figs. 2 and ll in any wellknown construction, which normally cause the pumps to deliver to said pipes, but may he turned to cause the discharge of water and oil through open-ended discharge pipes 52 and 53 into suitable vessels (not shown) provided for that purpose. The data thus obtained enables the throws of the cranks "to be adjusted in accordance with a suitable table showing the weights of given volumes of sea-water and oil as compared with their respective specific gravities.

The pumps and their driving mechanisn'i may be suitably supported, as by the provision of a. frame having a base 54 for the met", uprights 55 and connected by a 57, presenting a central bearing 58 and side bearings 59 and 60 for the shafts 43 and 414, while the pun'ip cylinders are supi- :rted on bases (31 and 62 conveniently formed on the uprights.

I will now describe the motor controlling means, reference bei had to ligs. 5, 6, 7 and 8. It will be r member-ed that the oil pump delivers oil from the main tank or tanks 15 to the auxiliary tank 12, whence it is fed by gravity to the engine 11. One convenient way of controlling the motor is by utilizing variations in the level of the oil in the auxiliary tank due to variations in or stoppage of the demand by the engine for fuel. To this end, I have herein provided a float 63, within the auxiliary tank and appropriately connected to a suitable motor-controlling switch As the rolling motion the boat otherwise would be apt to cause the float to pitch up and down, I have provided a casing 65 of small diameter, which encases the float, and is provided with appropriately arranged openings 63 providing a way of communication between the tank and theinterior of the casing. The float may be suitably guided in a vertical direction, as by upper and lower stems 6'? and 68 guided by upper and lower heads 69 and 70 of the casing 65.

The motor-controlling switch herein selected for exemplification is of common form, and comprises a movable contact member 71 (Figs. 6, 7 and 8), which in one position bridges the gap between a pair of fixed contacts 7 2, the latter being suitably connected in circuit with the motor 49 and a source of current, herein a battery 73, lead wires 74:, and a knife switch 75, all represented diagrammatically in Fig. 8. When the movable contact 71 bridges the gap between the stationary contacts 72, the circuit is completed, and the motor is started into operation, thereby driving the pumps. On the other'hand, when the movable contact is moved away from the stationary contacts, the circuit is broken and the motor stops, whereupon the pumps cease to operate.

The specitic' switch selected for exemplification is one which is readily pro- 1,4es,eee g3,

curable in the open market, and comprises an insulating base 76, provided with a chamber 77 having an arc-shapedwall 78 providing a curved track, while the movable contact 71 is in the form of a roller, which rides to and fro along this track, it being stopped at one end of its throw by an abutment 7 9 formed on the base 76, and at the other end by the stationary contacts 72. The roller is carried by a bifurcated carrier 80 formed of two thicknesses of insulating material provided with slots 81, in which a pin 82 is received, said pin being carried by a lever 83 fulcrumed on a pivot 84. A helically-coiled spring 85, surrounding the carrier 80, bears at one end against a fixed abutment 86, and at its other end against a sliding abutment 87, which the spring urges against a rounded inner end 88 of the lever 83. ihe latter is provided with two shoulders 89, cooperating with a iii-zed abutment 90 to limit swinging movement of the lever in opposite directions.

When, therefore, the lever 83 is swung from one extreme position toward the other, the lever and carrier act at first like a toggle, which straightens while the spring 85 is being compressed, and when the pin 82 passes the dead center, the spring asserts itself by throwing the carrier suddenly to its other extreme position in advance of the movement of the lever. in other words, theswitch is of the snap type, a gradual movement of the lever being at first accompanied by compression of the spring without corresponding movement of the carrier, and then, when the pin 82 passes dead center, the carrier moves instantaneously to its other extreme position. A sheet metal cover 91 encloses the switch mechanism, and protects the same from the entrance of foreign matter.

The lever 83 may be suitably connected to and operated by the loat 63, as by providing a long le er 92, fulcrumed at 93 on a switch mounting 94, and having a segmental gear 95 meshing with a corresponding segmental gear 96 formed on thelever 83. The other end (if the lever 92 is received in a slot 97 provided in the upwardly-extending float stem 67.

The general operation of the apparatus will now be described. Let it be assumed that the main and auxiliary tanks are filled with oil and that the float-controlled switch is in, its off position. Let it also be assumed that suitable adjustment of the throws of the pump cranks is made in accordance with the specific ,QiZlVitiQS of the sea-water and the fuel oil. if, now. the engine be started into operation, oil will be fed from the auxiliary tank to supply the demand of the engine for fuel. The level of the oil in the auxiliary tank will commence to drop, and as it falls, the float will descend, carrying with it the switch lever. W] hen the switch mechanism passes its dead center, the movable contact of the switch will be thrown into contact with the fixed contacts. thus closing the circult and starting the pumpoperating motor operation.

ihc oil pump commences to draw oil from one of the main tanl-;s to replace the oil draw-tn by the engine from the auxiliary tank, and the water pump replaces with sea-water the oil drawn from the main tank. The capacity of the oil pump is greater than the maximum demand for fuel,-hence the level of the oil in the auxiliary tank will rise and the iioat wi be lifted, car ying with it the switch-operatin; lever. llhen the level reaches a predc mined height, the switch to its off position, thus "will be thrown breaking the C11 t and causing the motor to stop. The motor will remain at rest and the pumps out of operation until, owing to further demands of the engine for fuel, the le ei )fthe oil in the auxiliary tank falls beodeterminec level. Naturally, when the eng stops, the demand for fuel ceases, and the motor will operate only as long as is necessary to restore the oil in the auxiliary tank to its normal level.

It followsthat the loss of weight due to consumption of oil by the engine is compensated for by the admission of an equal weight of sea-water, and the total weight of the submarine is maintained substantially constant, thus eliminating the human element and it possible to dive instantly.

Having thus described one embodiment of my invention, but without limiting myself thereto, what i claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. in a boat, the combination of a hull, a liquid fuel-burning power plant, a fuel pump supplying fuel to said power plant, means for controlling the admission of water to said hull, and means governed by the demand of said power plant for fuel to control the operation of said fuel pump and said water admission means.

2. In a boat, the combination of a hull, a liquid fuel-burning power plant, a fuel pump supplying fuel to said power plant, a water pump supplying water from the exterior to hull, and means governed by the demand of said power plant for fuel to control the operation of said pumps.

3. ln a boat, the combination of a hull, a liquid fuel-burning power plant, a tank from which fuel is fed to said power plant, a fuel pump supplying fuel to said tank, a water pump. supplying water from the exterior to said hull, and means governed by variations of level of fuel in said tank to control the operation of said pumps.

4. In a boat, the combination of a hull, a liquid fuel-burning power plant, a tank from which fuel is fed to said power plant, a

fuel pump supplying fuel to said tank, a water pump supplying water from the en terior to said hull, means for vrying the output of one pump with relation to that of the other, and means governed by variations of level of fuel in said tank to control the operation of said pumps.

5. In a boat, the combination of a hull, a liquid fuel-burning power plant, a tank from which fuel is fed to said power plant, a fuel pump supplying fuel to said tank, a water pump supplying water from the exterior to '3 hull, a pump driving motor, and means overned by variations of level of fuel in said tank to control the operation of said motor.

6. In a boat, the combination of a hull, a liquid fuel-burning power plant, a tank from which fuel is fed to said power plant, a fuel pump. supplying fuel to said tank, a water pump supplying water from the exterior to d hull, and means including a iioat governed by variations of level of fuel in said tank to control the operation of said pumps.

7. In a boat, the combination of a hull, a liquid fuel-burning power plant, a tank from which fuel is fed to said power plant, a fuel pump supplying fuel to said tank, a water mp supplying water from the exterior to said hull, a pump-driving electric motor, a switch controlling the operation of said motor, and means governed by variations of level of fuel in said tank to control said switch.

8. In a boat, the combination of, a hull, a liquid fuel-burning power plant, a tank from which fuel is fed to said power plant, a fuel pump supplying fuel to said tank,

a water Quinn su nl in water from the exi l. L 111g the outier or to said hull, n'ieans for va of one pump with relation to that of the tl a pump-driving electric motor, a *witch controlling the operation of said motor, and means governed by variations of level of fuel in said tank to control said switch.

9. In a boat, the combination of a hull, a liquid fuel-burning power plant,a tank from which fuel is to said power plant, a fuel pi p supplyin fuel to said tank, a water pump supplying water from the exterior to said hull, each of said pumps comprising an adjustable throw crank, and means governed by the demand of said engine for fuel to control the operation of'said pumps.

10. In a boat, the combination of a hull, a liquid fnel-burning power plant, a tank from which fuel is fed to said power plant, fuel pump supplying fuel tosaid tank, a water pump supplying water from the exterior to saidv hull, a pump-driving motor connected to drive said pumps at corresponding speeds, and means governed by the demand of said engine for fuel to control the operation of said motor.

11. In a boat, the combination of a hull,

a fuel-burningpower plant, means to cause a definite volume of water to be admitted to said hull in proportion to a given volume of fuel supplied to said power plant, and means adjustably to predetermine the relative volumes of water and fuel admitted to the hull and power plant, respectively.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

JOSEPH E. SWENDEMAN. 

